The Bitter Taste of Power
by Icylov3
Summary: Winter vacation is here, and Makoto has nothing better to do then sit around her empty apartment. So she decideds to hang around Rei's temple for the week and end up forcing the two into following a prophecy.
1. Prologue

The Bitter taste of Power

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. No characters in this fanfic belong to me. 

Chapter one: Prologue 

Rei sat silently in her eighth period class, watching with dull amusement, as her fellow classmates exchanged gifts before the break. She had not brought anything to give to anyone, seeing as how she did not wish to indulge in her peer's weird traditions. They would give each other the same gift they gave last year, only the size and color would change. And each year, the girls would act surprised and happy to receive it. The shrill screaming and the unnecessary tears just seemed to always strike a wrong chord. But that wasn't the only reason why she detested being there. After gifts were exchanged, Rei was left to fiend off personal questions. Questions about where she was going for the holidays, who was she spending it with, and why wasn't she so happy about Christmas. It was always like that, always. But this year would be different, she thought. She would spend the Holidays with her friends and Grandfather, so there really was no need to be upset. Rei tore her eyes off of the over excited teens, and gazed out the lightly snow covered window. She watched as the frozen white flakes floated down from the sky, deciding that now would be a good to catch up on her meditation. She focused on a single spot outside and began chanting in her mind.

* * *

Unlike a certain schoolgirl, the Senshi of time found most of her time being placed in a chaotic dimension. The people of that plane were still trying to get over a rather huge problem. Part of their country was damaged, and they were still trying to handle people with special gifts. In the midst of the chaos, there was an unknown entity causing the Time Senshi more trouble than she could handle. Old skeletons that were long forgotten were being dug out of the closet and she knew exactly how she would be spending the holiday.

* * *

Rei was thrown out of her meditation when she felt a gently shake. She looked up to see one of her classmates, with a huge smile plastered on her face.

"The bell rung." The girl said happily.

"Thanks." Rei mumbled, while putting her books away. She offered her a small smile as she did so.

"No problem. Merry Christmas." Her classmate said and walked away with a big smile still on her face, once again leaving Rei with a dull feeling in her stomach. She quickly stood up and gathered her things in hand. With a few strides, she was out the door and on her way down the hall.

Much to Rei's surprise, she got through the gate without interrogation. Everybody was stuck in their own things, enjoying the joys of the holidays. With a smirk, Rei had to admit that she was beginning to like this. She continued to walk off of the school's property and down the street. The young schoolgirl kept her eyes in front of her, ignoring the scenery as she went. After walking the same route for years, she had no choice but to remember every curve and bump, even if a white sheet of snow blanketed it. The strangely refreshing sound of snow being crushed under her black snow boots brought light into an otherwise dark day. Rei could honestly enjoy the brisk weather, as she marched home in silence.

* * *

The moment Rei reached the top of the stairs to her home, the snow started to fall at a much faster and harder pace. She hurriedly made her way inside the Hikawa Jinja, where she knew she could find shelter from the heavy storm. Once inside she removed the wet boots from her feet and threw off her coat, jacket and books. She allowed the items to fall on floor, deciding to deal with it later. With the cold feeling of outside still over taking her body, Rei walked into he kitchen and put on a pot of tea. While she waited for the water to boil, she parked herself on a chair and placed her head in her hands. The sound of silence quickly reached her ears, and Rei immediately knew what that meant. She jumped out of her seat and went over to the counter, she than began digging through the stacks of mail trying to find a specific thing. When she came across a small yellow piece of paper with scribble on it, she read the contents angrily.

**Dear Rei, ****Yuuichirou and I went across town to pick up some things before the storm. Got to be prepared you know. We should be back before the snow starts coming down to hard…Don't make that face, I know you Rei. The answer to your question is, the prices are much cheaper down here. Love Grandpa. **

Rei sighed and crumbled the piece of paper up. She could picture the old man laughing as he wrote the note, bundled up in his ancient coat and Tom hat. Rei fell back in her chair, and put her head on the table. She closed her eyes, hoping the two made it home safe.

Sleep unexpectedly took the girl from reality and Rei found herself in the middle of what appeared to be a battle. Dust was beingpushed everywhere, and the participants of the fight was being shield from on looking eyes. Rei stood up and looked around, she saw a silhouette of a figure just standing there. She began running that way, thinking that it must be safe. As she got closer she could make out a boy, he was her age, if not older. He had pale skin and teal colored hair. The two things that caught Rei's attention were the uniform and his eyes. The uniform he wore looked like it belonged to some kind of government organization. _If you ask me, he's way to young to be fighting in a war. But then again, who am I to talk? He makes himself look like he belongs. His eyes, they're so dark, so…. _Rei thoughts were cut off when she felt a huge power source heading her way. She turned to see another boy coming at the one in uniform, only this one had his arm covered in some type of armor. Holding her breath, she braced herself for the onslaught of rocks and dirt, she knew would be flying at her. When she felt nothing, she opened her eyes and looked around her. No one was there. No signs of anyone ever begin there, there weren't any signs of a battle, there wasn't anything. Rei felt a shiver ran through her body, and the temperature seemed to drop. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to warm her body up some. Her long sleeve white school shirt wasn't cutting it, and her short skirt wasn't helping the matter either.

"**_H-help us please!" _**Someone yelled.

"_What….Who's there?" _Rei looked around the area, trying to find the holder to the child's voice she heard. All she got in return was a tingling sensation in her chest, and a buzzing noise in her ear.

"**_You …You're not going to help, are you." _**The girl sounded disappointed and her voice was cracking.

"_No, it's not that." _Rei yelled distracted. She was pressing her hands against her ears, trying to stop the buzzing sound that was threatening to split her head in two.

"**_Good than. I'll be waiting." _**Her voice was cheerful, as if she was never going to cry in the first place. The child began laughing and the sounds of footstep moving farther away could be heard.

"_Huh, wait… Please wait. No, don't go. Who are you?" _Rei was whispering at first, but as she heard the footstep moving away, her voice began to pick up. The tingling sensation in her chest was starting to get more intense, moving on the verge of pain. Rei dropped to the ground and began rocking back and forth. All she wanted was the pain to stop. If only she could be that lucky. Like that buzzing promised, it intensified and soon turned into a loud hissing sound, Rei could no longer take the pain, and her eyes shot open.

Rei woke up to the smoke detector going off in a smoke filled room, along with the ringing telephone. She quickly ran over to the stove and turned off the stove. Rei grabbed the phone off the receiver, opened a window and ran out the kitchen. Once in the hall, she clicked the button on the bottom of the phone and placed it to her ear.

"Hello" she forcefully breathed out.

"Hi sweetie, did you just get in?" the person on the other end asked curiously.

"No, why do you ask?"

"Because it took so long for you to answer the phone, that's why I ask."

"I just dozed off, that's all. And Grandpa, you shouldn't have went all the way across town for food, I don't care how cheap they are. Where are you now?" Rei yelled, not letting her grandfather wiggle his way out of his daring but stupid choice of supply stocking.

"Oh, hahaha…funny story you see. We were trying to get the last of those animal crackers I like so much, when the manger came over the speakers and said that the store was closing. So everybody rushed to the counters, and there was a lot of commotion. And by the time we got out and in to the station, the tracks was too icy and they said something about heating and other technological stuff. Enough about me, how was your day." Rei's Grandpa laughed through the whole thing. He made it seem like it was a normal day occurrence, and the low growl he heard over the phone told him that his granddaughter was not amused.

"Do you two know how dangerous it is down there. I'm mean, your probably the only ones sitting there with food, I don't even want to think about what those people are thinking of doing to you guys."

"Don't worry Rei, I'm a lot more lethal that I look. And besides, I've got the best of trained with me."

"Yuuichirou? Are you serious?"

"Very much. Any who since you're not much of an eater, the food at the temple should be enough to hold you. If not, I'm quite sure your friends won't mind sharing. I have to go now, dress in bundles and stay warm, love you."

"Grandpa wait….he hung up." Rei stared at the phone dejectedly. That was the second time her plea was ignored, or does the dream count. Shaking her head, Rei braced herself and headed into the kitchen.

Once inside, she noted that the damage with not a lot. It was cold, really cold, but the smoke was gone. The first thing she did was close the window, and wipe down the snow covered counter. Rei made her way over to the stove and picked up the burnt pot. She examined it closely, and with a look of disgust, threw it in the trashcan. Making another pot of tea did not sound like such a good idea, so she gathered the stuff she dropped early and walked to her room.

_I thought I would do an S-Cry-Ed crossover, and this one I promise to finish. It seems I don't do that with other stories and I end up having to delete them. Anyway, review and tell me what you think. Thanks. _


	2. Waking the sleeping power

Chapter two: Waking the sleeping power

Rei walked into an empty room, which she called her own. Knowing that she was going to be spending the next few days alone didn't seem to bother her at all. But the fact that her Grandfather and undeniable friend were stranded in the city with no money and bags filled with food, bothered her a lot. She was cold, alone and the smoke filled kitchen had given her a slight headache. From past experience, she knew the small headache would grow into a large one if went ignored. So she placed her bags neatly on the table hung her coat on a hanger above her door and threw herself on her futon. The chilling weather and worried scenarios playing through her mind exhausted her body greatly. The warm quilt that she was lying on seemed much to inviting as she crawled into bed properly. She laid her head on her red pillow allowing herself to fall asleep.

"Commander Jigmar."

"I'm glad you two can make it, Ryuho, Scheris." The Commander said addressing the two people who stood in front of him. "I want you to meet someone; his name is Lieutenant Stone. Please…" Commander Jigmar said gesturing for a young man to come forward. His blonde curls bounced as he walked from out his spot in the corner. Ryuho looked ineffective by the strange man, while Scheris had no problem showing her shock. She had managed to latch herself on to Ryuho's arm after seeing the man pop from out of the shadows.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, I am as the Commander has said. Lieutenant Stone at your service." He showed a lopsided grin, which did little to hide the ice in his stare. Pushing aside a lock of blonde hair from his eyes, he walked over the side of Jigmar's desk.

"The Lieutenant will be assisting us with all the rouge Alter User, he has provided a step by step plan. I can't seem to find anything wrong with it, so I have decided to put it into action. Of course there is some room for compromise, but it will have to go through the Lieutenant."

"You are still in charged?" Ryuho sarcastic comment cut through the Commander's briefing. He set his cold stare on the Lieutenant who appeared to be getting a lot of praise. His plans for taking down NP3228 would be foiled if the Commander allowed the Lieutenant all this control.

"Please listen to the plan before passing judgement on the choice of action that have been decided." Ryuho glared at the Lieutenant but kept quiet. Not bothering to look twice at Scheris, he stood up straight. "Listen closely, I hate to repeat myself."

* * *

"Rei…Rei wake up. Come on, get up." A young girl yelled while shaking her sleeping friend. She increased her force but that didn't seem to be working. Without thinking, she grabbed a handful of raven hair and pulled. Of course the girl woke up, but she didn't look too happy.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU IN MY HOME MS.KINO!"

"Oh hi Rei, is this your house…musta gotta them mixed. Silly me." Makoto said as she began backing away to the door. She seen Rei angry before and this was not something she wanted to deal with. She had reached the bedroom door when Rei grabbed at her head gently and sighed.

"You know, you didn't have to pull my hair."

"I'm sorry. Maybe you should wake up next time." Makoto said trying to cover up the fact that she was clearly in the wrong. The glare on her friend's face told her otherwise.

"Maybe you shouldn't be in my house."

"Rei, I don't have anywhere else to stay. Are you really going to kick me out, this is like me second home." Mako pretended to be hurt and innocent. She rubbed her sock cover foot against the floor and played with the strings around her white hoodie.

"You have a REAL home, you just choose not to go there. You're always here." The remark came out with more venom then either had expected. One look at her brown haired friend and she knew she crossed the line. Rei quickly got out of bed and ran for the door, trying to stop the retreating Makoto.

"Mako wait! I'm real sorry!" She called out, but was received with silence. By the time she got to the living room, Makoto was already at the door and ready to leave. She watched with guilty eyes as one of her best friends began to exit her home in anger. But much to her surprise, the door wouldn't open.

"I think it's frozen shut."

"Try unlocking it."

"Tried it, the Damn door is frozen shut!" Makoto yelled at the priestess. Panic and anger rose high in both girls as Rei stepped forward and held onto Makoto's waist. They began pulling on the door, only to fall flat on their bottoms. Mako let out a frustrated cry as she tried harder to get the door open. Rei on the on the other hand sat on the floor, watching her very eager friend try to escape.

"Mako, you know I would never kick you out. You're free to stay here if you want. I'm saying this as a friend, one of your bestest friends in the whole wide world." Mako stared at the knob for a lingering second, before she turned around and offered her hand out for Rei to grab onto. The young Priestess accepted the gesture and was pulled off the floor immediately.

"I guess since we're stuck here, we might as well get used to sharing the same home." The emphasis on sharing the same home was ver heavy.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it, it's probably all my fault for pulling your hair."

"Probably, try: is your fault for pulling my hair." Rei said rubbing her sore head, remembering the pain at the mention of the earlier incident.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to attack me the way you did."

"So you'd rather physical then verbal?" Rei cut in. The infamous sarcastic tone was back in her voice, as she raised an eyebrow and questioned her fried.

"Haha very funny. You of all people should no what the effects of verbal attacks can do to a person." Makoto said sternly while looking at the stubborn priestess standing with her arms crossed. Rei rolled her eyes knowing just how well deserved that comment was.

"Whatever. Since I'm up, I might as well get some work done for school."

"Are you serious, school work on the first day of vacation. Rei my friend, lets go do something more exciting." Makoto said appalled at the mention of work. Rei had never been a study freak but then again, she wasn't the most exciting person to be around.

"Like….oh I know lets go bake cookies without adding flour to the pan."

"Once again, haha very funny. Let's go do some weird things. Like a ritual or something, you know that creepy mumbo jumbo stuff that the Shinto priest practice. Let's go exorcise a demon."

"I'm glad to know your stance on my religious background. But I don't have any demons to exorcise. I think I did all that when I was summoning the ghost of the other Miko's that were trained here, so we can have a little chat. Oh, no I did that after I had tea with the God of Wealth and asked him to bless the temple and make the earnings hefty." She recalled as if those things really happened. Holding her chin with one hand and resting her elbow in the other, Rei replied to Makoto's suggestions. Her sarcastic yet calm voice showed no signs of being amused. Unlike the rest of her friends, the young priestess took great pride in the Shinto religion and didn't hesitate to let them know when they were crossing the lines.

"Ok I get it, you don't have to bite my head off. But seriously, don't you have any books with crazy traditions and rites."

"I don't know. But I can bring you some old books Grandpa has and you can look through those."

"Great." Makoto shouted excitedly. Even though she didn't embrace Rei's religion she had taken great interest in some of the things that the priestess did. Together, the two girls made their way to a door that had always been locked. Rei jigged around with the knob and pulled the door opened. She motioned for Makoto to come with her right hand and held the door opened with the left. They walked into the room and Rei closed the door gently behind her. Rubbing her hand against the wall, Makoto found the light switch and flicked it on.

"Thanks goodness you don't completely live in the past." The glare from Rei told Makoto that the comment wasn't taken lightly. Shrugging off her friend's behavior as just another one of Rei's mood, the Senshi of Jupiter began looking through the piles of books scattered around the room. Stacked on shelves, piled neatly on the floor, even occupying the chairs lied many books, scrolls and papers. A smile crossed the schoolgirl's face as she went on her quest for 'creepy mumbo jumbo' to get involved with.

* * *

"Hey listen to this…When a child is born after the sun sets, then he or she must be properly cleansed in the same water as a trained Priest of more then two years of temple residing. If the child is not cleansed within four hours of birth then he or she must be sacrificed to the Gods as an attendant or loyal subservient." Taking a minute to digest the words, Makoto quickly discarded the book on the floor. "Wow that's deep."

"Mako, that's probably not even true. I doubt a thoughtful sacrifice would be an undeserving child who was forcefully brought into this world after dark." Rei said trying her hardest not to sound mad. This had been the twelfth precept she had to clear up for her friend, having been through most of these books already.

"Ummm…you're the expert. Hey I found another one, is this true? It says, a general of darkness will try his hand in destroying two heroes. His control alone shall take away the entire honor and determination from out a battle, leaving the two heroes to fight bitterly to the end. But light shall emerge from out that darkness. Through strength, love, determination, and a sense of justice, four creatures of various elements shall defeat the general. The controller of the very heavens, with deep concern and nurturing, shall lead the way to self-awareness. The one of knowledge will use wisdom and words to slay many of the darkness' minions. The beautiful creature of laughter and light shall shed the bricks around the hero's heart and make him human again. A new man shall be born through the passion and strength of the last creature. Together they will grow stronger and bring an end to their on going battle. The last creature shall control bodiless force itself. With inhuman like abilities watch over the people she loves with her third eye."

"Hmmm…sounds like a prophecy. It's quite beautiful actually, anything else?" Rei said absentmindedly. She was sitting on a nearby chair and had actually been interested in what Makoto was saying.

"A picture and a couple of pages going into detail. Do you wanna see for yourself?" She opened the old book wider on her lap, so her priestess friend can inspect the contents. She noticed that Rei was staring at a picture that took up one whole page. There was four beautiful women and they were dancing around two heavily armored men. All the women were dressed in different clothing, each more daring then the other. The setting was a beautiful nighttime forest with lighting bugs fluttering about.

"The creatures…I wonder why they're called creatures but look human."

"It did say that they controlled different elements. Maybe they're not quite human."

"It's probably just a legend. Grandpa once told me that not everything written is true. Just because it looks old, doesn't mean it's worth anything. Anyway, you can stay here and read through it if you want, I have no problem but I'm going to bed." The tired girl stood up and brushed her skirt off. They had been in the room for several hours looking through the old books. She walked to the door and yawned, finally giving up on the search. Makoto distracted voice filtered through the air, reaching Rei's ears before she walked out the door.

"I think I will stay up a little longer. Oh Rei, try not to take up to much space on the bed, I won't be here long and I'll be damned if I sleep on that cold wooden floor."

With a soft nod of the head, Rei left to go to bed. She walked down the hall and back into her bedroom. Looking around at the normally empty room, Rei sighed realizing that her nights won't be filled with peaceful silence that she was used to. She slowly removed her school uniform and hung it up. She then quickly ran to her dresser and pulled out her pajamas, quick as to not stand to long on the cold floor. While she crawled back under the warm haven of her burgundy colored quilt placed over her futon, Rei began thinking about the 'prophecy' Makoto was talking about.

"Two heroes battling bitterly to the end. Four creatures' come together to end the general's rule and bring peace to the two heroes. Two heroes…just a coincidence." The young girl thought while pulling the quilt over her head. The dream she had while napping and the things that Makoto had to just be a coincidence.

* * *

"Rei you still alive?" fifteen minutes found Makoto inside Rei's room sitting on the edge of the bed. She whispered in a low voice as to not wake the girl if she were asleep.

"It's been only seven hours, I think I allowed myself nine hours to be my breaking point. So yes, I 'm awake for now." Rei's muffled voice strained through the quilt as she answered Makoto. She pulled the quilt over her head, but continued to lie on her back.

"Great, now take a look at this." Ignoring the icy tone in her voice, Makoto shoved the book in Rei's face.

"Uhhh…are you still reading that. It's ancient history, practically no purpose or any type of educational bearings. It's junk."

"Rei, you know that I love you don't you. So be a dear and look at the damn book. Because if you don't, I'm gonna make you wish you were in candy land with Usagi and Rini and the three of you are chained together."

"What is it?" Rei said through gritted teeth, knowing full well what her tall comrade was capable of doing. Bracing herself for more unwanted information, she sat up and gave all her attention to the talk of the book.

"Ok, here. You see how the Four creatures have special abilities. The two that I've found interesting were the one that controls the heavens and the one controls essences and has a third eye."

"So…"

"So, doesn't that remind you of someone?" The eyes were beginning to roll and Makoto knew exactly what that meant. It meant that nothing she was going to say was going to be taken in stride with Rei. "Rei look, before you put the thing out of mind, listen to me. If you notice, I have control of the heavens. I mean, my Senshi attacks have to do with thunder and the earth. God created the earth and controls the rain and thunder right?"

"Some like to believe."

"Right, so you have a third eye…well sorta. You can see deep down into people and separate the good from the bad, you can see into the future and you can control spirits. Hence, bodiless force."

"I can't control spirits, I can dispel them and maybe force them to come out but I can't control them." The evidence of her being angry was starting to pile up. It wasn't that she did not want her friend around. What it was, was it just seemed that Makoto was testing her patience. The many remarks and questions about her religion and the persistent attitude was really working her nerve.

"Yeah it's like the same thing Rei. Don't fight with me, can't you just go along with this."

"Are you this desperate for adventure that you would take the first interesting object you see and try and force it in a place where it doesn't fit. Here something to do, why don't you try digging your way out the front door, maybe you might find a hidden unicorn that will grant you a wish. Or maybe you might discover the meaning of life, but whatever you do, leave me out of it." Rei had finally said what she had to say. Sighing heavily, she pulled the sheets over her head and tried to go back to sleep. But that just wasn't happening when she felt a brush of cool air over her half naked body and heard Makoto's angry voice.

"Look Rei, I understand that you always get grumpy this time of year but whatever your problem is, get over it. I didn't come here to see the bitch in you come out because you don't have anyone to go around spewing lovey dovey family junk around a Christmas tree. In case you haven't notice, you have more family at hand then I do and for once I would like to have one season in this year to not be tainted by very depressed attitude. So, since we're stuck here for god knows how long, were going to enjoy it like it was any other HAPPY day. We'll start by examining the text that I'm holding in my hand. Then we'll go to sleep and pick it up tomorrow."

"You're not going to leave me alone are you." Rei said after digesting the angry words that were thrown at her. As true as they were, she wasn't going to down quietly. "Fine, after I hear your theory, I go to bed. Clear."

"Very." She said happy to see that her friend wasn't to mad at her. To make sure there was no rocky roads between the two, she had wrapped her arms around Rei's shoulders and smiled. "Rei, I'm only doing this because I care."

"Let me hear that theory now." Rei brushed the girl off playfully, not quite accepting her odd form of apology.

"OK fine, fine. I believe that you and I are two out of the four creatures. I mean, we aren't really humans you know. Your Martian and I'm, I'm from Jupiter. Besides that, some of our Senshi abilities match that of the ones describes."

"Wait, before you finish. Why would this all of a sudden have to do with us."

"Fate. Rei, you're always saying how you can't go against the hands of fate and to just accept things as it is, right? And we've been through a lot so you can't say that none of this isn't possible. The moment I got inside your house, the door froze, and then we come across this book. I bet if you look into the fire, you might find something about this."

"I guess that could be true, but I don't understand how this has anything to do with me and you, I mean I haven't had any visions of us." To hear her own words being used against her to prove a point that was somewhat logical made her dislike the situation even more.

"Ok, but even you have to admit that with everything we've been through, the scenario isn't impossible."

"Ok so about your theory, how exactly do the two creatures match us?"

"Well, look at you. You…"

"The creature." Rei said blankly correcting Makoto.

"The last creature can control bodiless force. You Rei, can control fire which has no form and in a very small way control spirits. You have a high level of E. something."

"ESP. and everyone has it, some are just stronger then the other."

"It says here that the last creature has a high level of psychic powers. With all the stuff you can do, maybe you have it and just haven't noticed. And if you haven't noticed it, then you can't develop it like you have everything else."

"Will you leave me alone if I go to the fire and do a reading and prove that you're just really bored and need to find a hobby."

"Yes I will." Makoto said, trying to stay as calm as possible so she wouldn't anger the other girl any further.

"Fine lets go." They entered the meditation room together and watched as the small flame blazed to life as it's currently residing owner took a seat in front. This would seem like any other day, if not for the state of dress the Priestess were in. With her shorts on, she seated herself Indian style on the floor and began to perform various hand movements while chanting under her breath. Soon the room went dark and the young woman was sitting at a grassy bank. On a rock near by, she spotted a little girl resting silently. Without turning around, she addressed Rei.

"_You're coming to help! I knew you would." _

"_Who are you?" Rei asked softly, afraid she might make the little girl run away again. _

"_It doesn't matter, you promised to help. You can't take it back." She replied. Jumping off the rock, she turned to Rei and frowned. _

"_No, no, I'm not taking my promise back. I just want to know who you are." _

"_Will you help him? He's fighting to hard and I'm afraid he'll hurt himself." _

"_Why is he fighting?" Rei asked again, fed up with all the reiteration. She was supposedly going to help this little girl, but she had no clue who she was or how she was going to help. Let alone, what she was helping the kid do. _

"_He's fighting to get stronger. He won't let anything stop him, but you will right?" _

"_Uhhh…"  
_

"_I'll see you very soon, thank you so much." She smiled happily, jumping up and down. She then proceeded to bow slightly to Rei, then said her good byes and began running towards the trees. _

"_Wait, don't go!" Rei yelled at the girl. Why was she volunteering her for everything? The stumped priestess called again to see if she could get the girl to stop but she didn't quit running. _

"Wait don't go, come back."

"Rei, I didn't go anywhere. Is everything okay?" Makoto asked from her position behind Rei. She watched as her friend nodded her head. She opened her mouth to further question her, but she turned around and smiled.

"Yea, I'm fine…ummm so you still have that book." Rei changed the subject quickly, knowing exactly what to say. Any mention of the book would probably make Makoto forget about everything in the whole world and concentrate on it alone.

"Yea I found some more stuff. I hope you don't mind, but the book ripped and I took the pages out. It says that, like angels I can be different places at once. This so cool, I can transport to different place. It also says that I can control this small monster that has lighting powers. Rei this is to close to be coincidence."

"Right, so if this is true, why don't you transport us to….to Hawaii or Europe."

"Fine." She had had enough of Rei's negative attitude and lack of adventure. If she were lucky enough, she would prove Rei wrong and bring them some fun during their vacation. Closing her eyes, she tried forming pictures in her head of the place she wanted to go. But when she heard an arrogant smirk and the thudding sounds of someone moving, she began to whisper desperately in her mind. _Please go somewhere…anywhere. Hello Destiny, can you hear me?_ Finally giving up and deciding to accept the fact that Rei was right, Makoto opened her eyes…

* * *

"Owww…my head!" Rei sat up and held onto her throbbing head, she was extremely dizzy and was having trouble seeing. When she had once again gained control of her sight, she started looking around. She noticed that her surroundings had changed greatly. Instead of her self-reflecting room, she was sitting in a lake of ice cold water. To make matters worse, she was still in her pajamas, which consisted of a pair of black boy shorts and a pink tank top. Not wanting to catch a cold, Rei began to slowly stand up. She was unsure of any injuries besides a headache.

"HEY MISS, ARE YOU OK?" Rei turned to the sound of the voice, to see someone waving his or her arms frantically. She had finally stood up straight and was able to clearly see the person calling out to her. She lifted her arms slightly and waved back to the young man, happy not to be stranded in a deserted place.

"ARE YOU HURT?" He yelled back after seeing the girl's response. She started to walk over to him, much to his surprise. "Guess not." He mumbled.

Once she had reached the lake's edge, she pushed herself forward and fell to the floor. She couldn't stop the tremors from passing through her body as the cold water seeped down to her bones. Her state of dress wasn't helping much at all. Rei looked up after feeling something heavy fall across her back. The young man smiled as he offered her his jacket.

"Here. This should do you some good, that is, until we get you someplace warmer. And I know just the people to bring you too."

"T-thanks…I…uhhh…appre…ciate the h-help." Rei stumbled out her word while she tried to thank the young man for his help.

"No sweat. I'm always willing to help and stranger in need." The young man said as he helped her to his car. He had one hand around her waist and the other was holding onto the car keys. Rei stared at his broad grin and couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.

"I don't have any money." She whispered, not sure if he would leave her or not. He did seem disappointed with that knew found information, but just shrugged it off.

"That's ok. We've all been going through some tough times. I'll just put it on your tab, ok with you." He laughed lightly at the confused look she was giving him. "Oh ok, for you, I'll drive for free."

Rei nodded her head and sat down in the passenger seat. He slammed the door shut and frowned at the girl's lack of humor. Getting into his own side, he started up the car and began driving away. Stepping his foot down hard on the pedal he speed off.

"So what do they call ya?" The young man asked trying to start a conversation.

"Rei."

"Rei huh, I'm Kunihiko Kimishima. It's a pleasure to meet, although it could have been on better terms ya know?" when the young woman didn't respond, he turned to the side to see her shivering madly. The light jacket he had given her was doing very little to keep her wet body warm. She stared ahead holding tightly onto herself. Kimishima turned back to the road and let his foot up off the gas. The car slowed down and from the corner of his eye he could see the girl relax, just a bit. Although it wasn't much, he knew that she wasn't going to freeze to death.

"Thanks." Rei whispered after quickly noticing the change in speed. She pulled the jacket closed tighter around her and sunk into the seats. Seeing as how there was nothing but grass and trees around, she closed her eyes and allowed the man to take her wherever it was he was going, while she went to sleep.

* * *

Makoto had awoken to a warm sensation against her forehead. She could feel tiny trickles of water running down the front part of her nose. With the tickling feeling it was giving off, Makoto had no choice but to open her eyes. When she opened her emerald colored orbs, she was staring back at a little girl about nine years old. She blinked her eyes a couple of times to make sure of her surroundings. But when the girl hovering above her and the wooden ceiling still remained, she closed her eyes and sighed heavily.

"Are you okay Miss, are you hurt?"

"Hmm…I'm fine thank you."

"Good, Kaz-kun found you lying in the middle of the road and brought you here. I hope you're okay."

"What's a Kaz-kun, is it your dog?" Makoto said wrinkling her nose at the weird name. The young girl began laughing while shaking her.

"No, Kazuma. He lives with me, he'll be back pretty soon."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm such an idiot."

"It's alright, my names Kanami Yuta. What's your name?" She said shaking off the other girl's embarrassment. She smiled widely and held out her hand.

"I'm Makoto Kino, nice to meet you Kanami." Makoto answered, while shaking Kanami's hand. She smiled also, finding the gesture to be contagious.

"Same here. So what happened?"

"Huh?"

"Don't you remember what happened after you passed out?" Her squeaky voice sounded alarmed as Makoto facial expression turned to one of confusion.

"Uhhh…REI!" She looked like she was struggling to remember, but when he did, confusion was replaced by fear.

"Rei, is she a friend of yours?"

"Yea and I need to find her. I hope nothing bad happened."

"Oh, you don't have to worry. That is if your friend is a polite person. The people in this part of the city are so nice. They would probably help her out. Well…unless she's part of Holy. They've have a bad rep around here you know."

"Holy…is that some kind of cult or something." The tall brunette asked confused. She felt that she could trust what Kanami was saying, and her panic meter flew slightly once again being replaced by curiosity.

"You don't know what Holy is?"

"Kanami, I'm home." A loud male voice rang through the house and the slamming of a door could be heard afterwards.

"Kaz-kun, I'm in here." Kanami yelled out, soon after a young man walked in. He immediately began eyeing Makoto with suspicion written in his eyes.

"Oh, so she's awake."

"Her name's Makoto Kino."

"Hmmm…I haven't seen you around here. New in town." He asked addressing the girl still sitting in bed.

"I guess you could say that. You must be Kazuma." He narrowed his eyes even more. He didn't try to hide the suspicion he felt. "Your friend here told me, it's not like I was spying on you." Makoto rolled her eyes at the Kazuma's paranoia. She was going to say something else to calm his mind, when the sound of a door slamming open and another male's voice cut through.

"Hey! Anybody home!"

"Mr. Kimishima is here. Please excuse us." Kanami said, bowing slightly to Makoto.

"Huh? What happened Kimishima?" Kazuma asked while looking at the dripping girl. She stood up very weakly on her own, being supported primarily by Kimishima strong hold.

"I was driving by the lake when I saw her fall in. She appeared out of no where and made this huge splash."

"REI!" Makoto yelled as she ran towards her friend. The cold, wet girl collapsed in her arms as they both fell to the floor. Her friend was trembling madly while clinging to the hunter green jacket she had wrapped around her body.

"Oh, so this is your friend. Hurry Kaz-kun and go get her a towel and some blankets. Mr. Kimishima can you go boil some water while I go and get a small bucket." Kanami rushed into the kitchen with Kimishima, and Kazuma ran into the room Makoto was just occupying. Makoto sighed and looked down at her fallen friend. When she had followed the steps in the old book she had found, she had no idea that it would actually work. She didn't dream it would come to this. To see her friend shaking rather forcefully and on the verge of freezing to death was not something she wanted on her mind.

"Oh, Rei I'm so sorry. Just be okay, ok."

"She'll be fine. Here, dry her off and then put this on her." Kazuma said frowning at the pale girl. He handed Makoto a few towels and a pair of clothing. By the look of it, she could tell that it had to belong to Kazuma or the young man that had just entered.

"Thanks." With a simple nod of the head, he turned and left the room. He made his way into the kitchen to see Kanami rummaging through the cabinets and Kimishima staring at the semi-boiling water. Kazuma leaned against the counter and stared hard Kanami backs. From the way she frantically searched, he could easily tell how concerned she was. She had always been the caring and nurturing type, but never had he seen her take this much control. He watched as she found a small bucket, and proceeded to wash it in the sink. She then turned to Kimishima and handed him the clean metal.

"Pour the water in the bucket Mr. Kimishima. Kaz-kun can you bring it into the room when he's done? I have to go check on the girls." He nodded his head softly and watched as she practically ran out the room.

"Oh, he gave you some dry clothes. Good, so all we have to do is wait for the water to boil and then we'll have a homemade heating towel to place on her head. Keeps the cold away. Just keep her wrapped up tight in that quilt, hopefully she'll be okay."

"Thanks, you've been a big help." Makoto smiling at the little girl. She was surprise to see them act so quickly to help, especially after what Kanami had told her about that Holy. Even though Makoto didn't know what it was, she was pretty sure the two boys didn't know that. She was positive that Kazuma was going to bite her head off about it, if not for the fact that his friend walked in with Rei. The thought of her friend brought her back to reality. Kanami was holding onto Rei's hand and the young man called Kimishima was holding open the door.

"Hey Kanami here's the water you wanted."

"I hope she'll be alright. I tried to get here as fast as I could but when I drove fast, she would shake real hard." Kimishima said with a lot of worry in his voice. He could see how the two girls act over her and didn't want to see them hurt, especially not Kanami. She sighed and waited patiently for Kazuma to put the bucket next her. She then started soaking placed some ripped pieces of cloth in the boiling water. After waiting a few seconds, she took them off and laid them on a small makeshift rack.

"With all the help you've given I'm quite sure Rei will be fine. She's a lot tougher then she looks." Makoto said, watching Kanami take the pieces of cloth of the rack and putting it on Rei's forehead. A smile came to her face after seeing how professional and gently the little girl was. After Kanami was done tending to Rei, she led the group out of the room. Once they were out, standing in living areas, she turned to the group suddenly and looked at Makoto.

"Oh, where are my manners. Ms. Kino, would you like to introduce yourself or should I?"

"My name is Makoto Kino and that girl in there is Rei Hino."

"I'm Kunihiko Kimishima." He said smiling brightly at Makoto. She turned to Kazuma and he simply shrugged.

"Kazuma."

"Thank you both." The brunette said, trying not to let the rude introduction spoil her day. Her friend was going to be ok and that's all that mattered.

"Hey no problem, so just what were you doing out in the middle of the road like that?" Kazuma asked. Before her friend came in, he was going to question her. But now didn't seem like the best time to accuse her of associating with HOLD.

"I don't know, all I can remember is being at Rei's place and then I woke up here. Where did you find Rei at."

"Like I said earlier, I was driving past the lake and I saw her fall from the sky. She sat there for a while and I thought she might have been hurt. She didn't fall from to high, but the lake isn't really deep. She got up and I drove her here." Kazuma said addressing the teen.

"Can we talk about this when Rei wakes up, she's more likely to tell you what happened better then I could." Makoto asked feeling her stomachs do flips. She could tell she was in big trouble.

"Ms. Kino, would like to help me in the kitchen. We don't have much food, but I think I can manage a few sandwiches and some soup for your friend." With short silence being broken by Kanami, Makoto smiled. The offer to help in the kitchen eased the terrible feeling that was growing in that was growing inside.

"Kanami, I am going to show you the power of improvising."

* * *

"So what do you think?" Kimishima asked Kazuma, who was repeatedly throwing a rock up and catching it. they were both standing outside waiting for the girls to finish in the kitchen.

"I don't know, they might be from HOLD but I doubt it."

"Why?"

"Well she seems really worried about her friend and I doubt those bastards would send a half naked girl to get me." He threw the rock across the dry road, angered at the mention of HOLD.

"We won't know until she wakes up, so we should just keep a wide eye." Kazuma friend said, while staring at the sky. Deep down, he was hoping that the two wasn't from HOLD. They were both good looking, and he wasn't getting any younger.

"Right."

* * *

"Wow, won't all that water make the soup taste funny?" Kanami asked watching Makoto add another cup of boiling water in the pot. The older woman smiled and threw in some spices and seasoning. There was no harm in telling the girl her cooking secrets, so she bent down and whispered in her ear.

"With the right seasoning, it won't."

"Can I taste it?" the girl giggled and looked at the brown liquid. The aroma alone was making her stomach growl and she had to find out what it tasted like.

"Sure, I don't think Rei would mind."

"Hmmm…this is delicious. It's almost ready right? We can all eat together."

"Yeah, I guess so. Hopefully she's feeling better." Makoto said quietly. She began pouring the soup in the large bowl Kanami placed on the counter. She placed it on a try with friend vegetables and sandwiches Kanai lifted the try and smiled.

"I'll go get Kaz-kun and Mr. Kimishima and set up in the room." Nodding her head, Makoto turned went to go get Rei.

"This is all your fault. I'd expect something like this to happen because of Usagi or Minako but definitely not you."

"Calm down Rei and get off of me." Everyone stopped when they heard the two new comers yelling. Immediately getting to there feet, everyone ran into 'Rei's' room. They were shocked to find her up and well. Her face was a dark red as she struggled on the floor with Makoto. The two was wrestling on the floor and by the looks of things, nethier was happy.

"How could you? I told you to leave it alone but you just couldn't listen. Now look what happened."

"REI, GET OFF OF ME!"

"Hey, calm down the both of you." Kazuma ran over and pulled Rei off of Makoto. Her clothes, being two sizes to big, hung off, making it difficult for him to hold her tightly. He managed to keep Rei away from Makoto as Kanami and Kimishima went to help her up.

"Can't we talk this out like adults." Kazuma leaned over and whispered in Rei's ear. She seemed surprised at the advice, having not been paying attention to the man holding her before. Her sudden submissive behavior gave Kazuma enough leeway to pull her out the room. He could hear the other's footsteps following close behind. Rei was led to a used up loveseat, and gently pushed down. To angry to do anything, she stared at the young man as he sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry Rei, but since we are here, I think we should work together and try and figure out where here is." Silence passed between the people, allowing Makoto enough concentration to think up her words carefully.

"What do you mean where here is?"

"It's a long story." Rei answered. She had calmed down enough to eat the soup that the young girl had silently offered. After hearing Makoto's apology and the words that came after, she knew there just was no room for fighting now.

**This is the longest chapter I have ever written, which is pretty sad to say because it's not that long. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that there won't be much HOLY/ HOLD until the later chapters. So don't expect Kazuma and Ryuho to be battling anytime soon. I know Makoto seems a little out of character, but don't worry. She'll be returning back to us pretty soon. **

Pairing: Rei + Kazuma, Mako + Kimishima, Scheris +Ryuho


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